Visa's granted Dec 08 - STILL here in the UK...

[WeGottaGetOuttaThisPlace]

It just feels like we will never get to Australia. I have stopped researching and hardly ever look at PomsInOz any more as I am getting totally disillusioned.

 

Thing is, we really really really want to go but since the visa's were granted, the house market crashed, my other half lost his job in construction, we have been forced to spend a lot of our savings that we were going to use to get set up in Melbourne as we were struggling to pay the mortgage.

 

Our house wouldn't sell, our car was written off following car accident, we have lost our jobs countless times now and are struggling here in the UK. It just seems like fate or whatever keeps throwing obstacles in our path when we try to get our heads above water and the dream of moving to Melbourne gets further and further away.

 

We will be forced to make a decision anyway since the visa's will expire and I still believe we will get there somehow. I am just soooo not on the ball any more when it comes to the practicalities of actually making the move whereas in early 2009 I had worked out a lot of what we would need to get in order like getting a container and shipping our belongings, what area's we could afford to rent in when we arrived, what licensing etc hubby would need to get, etc etc but now I have lost all motivation.

 

I just feel :arghh: at the moment.

 

I am now starting to worry about "what if our relationship doesn't take the strain of the move, what if we take our little boy away from his grandparents/cousins now he is old enough to know who they are (we were initially thinking of emigrating once he was 6 months old n now he is a toddler).

 

Also, I have been reading about house there are a lot of migrants who are selling up in Oz and heading back to the UK since the pound is pathetically low and how people who have recently arrived in Oz have struggled so badly that they are forced to come back. I know this is not true for everyone but I seem to be focusing on the negatives....

 

Is anyone else in the same boat or can you please offer some words of advice? I don't know what I need to hear. I really am terrified of leaving now but I also know we would regret it if we didn't go for it after going through the visa process and getting it and I know others have not been so lucky... Help! :wubclub:

[BritChickx]

You said it yourself. If you don't go you'll regret it, so GO! Have you been looking for jobs? Maybe you could apply to some whilst you're in the UK, it would obviously be a lot easier on you if you knew you had a job to go to. The UK isn't getting any prettier which makes it a perfect time to go. Save up as much as you can, book those flights and get yourselves to Australia - if you don't like it you can move back, but don't let what's happened in the UK put you off Australia.

[Addy]

Don't give up. Exactly the same thing happened to us. We started the process in Feb 2007 and got our visa in Sept 2008, by which time the housing market had crashed. We sold our house for what we paid for it 4 years previously and then got stung with a terrible exchange rate too. So I totally sympathise.

 

By the sounds of it, you have 3 options;

 

1. Sell your house for silly money to get a sale

2. Decide to wait the crash out.

3. Rent the house out and head out here asap to get jobs. If you are jobless in the UK it is worth a shot over here. Can you leave your possessions with a relative / friend and rent your house as furnished? If you get jobs then you can get your stuff sent over. If you are child free you can stay in cheap hostels while you look for work. If you have children you will have to stay somewhere decent but you can find cheap small units. Buy furniture from the op shops etc. It's not what you dreamed of but it is the cheapest way to see if you can get a foot in the door before your visa runs out.

 

Good luck. :hug:

[lambfamily]

Hi. Just to let you know that we were granted our ENS permanent residency visa on 31 Dec 09 and were just making final plans to move out in August (house sale going through finally) and our sponsor decided to pull the plug on the job last Wednesday (incidentally no financial support has ever been provided by them for this process. We've paid for it all ourselves) - says they can't wait any longer. Up to end Feb, there didn't seem to be an issue about timeframes but now that's all changed. The fact is, we're now also trying to decide what to do next.

 

We need to validate the visa before 16 Sept 10 or it was all for nothing. Our oldest boy is due to start Secondary school in Sept so don't want to start messing him around with schooling as well.

 

We're not sure if we can still go out to Aus and find work once we're there with a different employer - we've emailed the DIAC to see if our visa has any restrictions because looking thro all the paperwork it doesn't seem to have. If anyone knows more on this, all pointers useful. We just don't want to spend all that money going out there and finding the visa isn't valid without the original sponsor.

 

I've had doubts about going but feel that if we don't give it a shot, we'll regret it, particularly if the visa carries no restrictions that prevent us from giving it a try.

 

I understand how you feel gottagetoutathisplace with the family issue, relationship strains because I'm sitting here with exactly the same feelings. For saying I was the one who was less keen, I'm probably the one that is pushing for us to just sod it and get out there anyway and for once in my life, take a risk. I don't know how this is going to pan out for us as we're still reeling from the shock of the sponsor withdrawing but I'm sure we'll make the best decision based on all the facts we have before us.

 

What I will say is that once the decision is made, I won't revisit it and dwell on it if things turn out not as expected. We can only deal with what we have at the time and as long as you're all on the same page and united on your decision, that should be enough to see you through whatever way you decide to jump. Stressful times I'm sure and I hope you and your other can sort this so you're both happy with what you choose. Good luck.

 

Debbie

 

A quote I came across yesterday has given me some food for thought:

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall"!!

[Andy & Kelly]

Hi,

 

We didn't have a pot to piss in when we arrived in Oz. We sent our clothes over in boxes through a company called Excess Baggage. When we rented our house we didn't even have a T.V or furniture, we bought what we could afford second hand. We had our first home which is a 4x2 with bugger all in it! We both got jobs pretty easy and now have everything we need. We still have two houses in the U.K which we couldn't sell so we just rent them out now. I'd say just go for it. I think you would both find jobs easily. WA is on the verge of another big boom so times can only get better. I don't understand how people are struggling to live here. If your prepared to shop around a bit things are about the same price really.

 

Good luck and stick with it.

[Andy & Kelly]

We're not sure if we can still go out to Aus and find work once we're there with a different employer - we've emailed the DIAC to see if our visa has any restrictions because looking thro all the paperwork it doesn't seem to have. If anyone knows more on this, all pointers useful. We just don't want to spend all that money going out there and finding the visa isn't valid without the original sponsor.

 

Hi, i thought you had to stay with your employer a certain amount of time on the ENS before you can go and work for anyone else. I hope i'm wrong.

[Stevenson]

We are going from Glasgow to Melbourne (but we don't yet have a visa), We will make less money on the house than what we originally wanted and savings are now gone, but I feel it really can't be any worse, and if it is then we will come back.

 

It is a hard decision, I am not trying to make it sound simple, so good luck, with the future.

[WeGottaGetOuttaThisPlace]

Hi. Just to let you know that we were granted our ENS permanent residency visa on 31 Dec 09 and were just making final plans to move out in August (house sale going through finally) and our sponsor decided to pull the plug on the job last Wednesday (incidentally no financial support has ever been provided by them for this process. We've paid for it all ourselves) - says they can't wait any longer. Up to end Feb, there didn't seem to be an issue about timeframes but now that's all changed. The fact is, we're now also trying to decide what to do next.

 

We need to validate the visa before 16 Sept 10 or it was all for nothing. Our oldest boy is due to start Secondary school in Sept so don't want to start messing him around with schooling as well.

 

We're not sure if we can still go out to Aus and find work once we're there with a different employer - we've emailed the DIAC to see if our visa has any restrictions because looking thro all the paperwork it doesn't seem to have. If anyone knows more on this, all pointers useful. We just don't want to spend all that money going out there and finding the visa isn't valid without the original sponsor.

 

I've had doubts about going but feel that if we don't give it a shot, we'll regret it, particularly if the visa carries no restrictions that prevent us from giving it a try.

 

I understand how you feel gottagetoutathisplace with the family issue, relationship strains because I'm sitting here with exactly the same feelings. For saying I was the one who was less keen, I'm probably the one that is pushing for us to just sod it and get out there anyway and for once in my life, take a risk. I don't know how this is going to pan out for us as we're still reeling from the shock of the sponsor withdrawing but I'm sure we'll make the best decision based on all the facts we have before us.

 

What I will say is that once the decision is made, I won't revisit it and dwell on it if things turn out not as expected. We can only deal with what we have at the time and as long as you're all on the same page and united on your decision, that should be enough to see you through whatever way you decide to jump. Stressful times I'm sure and I hope you and your other can sort this so you're both happy with what you choose. Good luck.

 

Debbie

 

A quote I came across yesterday has given me some food for thought:

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall"!!

 

 

I am so sorry for you that your sponsor has gone and messed everything up for you. Hopefully someone will be able to give you some positive news on the visa.

 

Thanks so much for your post too, I think you are right in taking a risk and giving it a go. I just worry that we will waste a whole lot more money if things don't work out and we have to come back, but then again we don't have a secure future here at the moment anyway. My other half is on contract work just now so no security. Just contract to contract. It is so stressful. I am at home with our toddler since I was only going to bring in £100 a month in my old job and that was after a raise...

 

Anyway, I guess we will really have to make a decision one way or the other. It is so hard isn't it. You think the hard part is getting the visa and it takes so much work to get it that we definitely hadn't put as much research or effort into finding out about the practicalities of actually getting there! :goofy:

 

Best of luck with your situation too. Fingers crossed for you

[lambfamily]

Andy and Kelly. Thanx for that. We have the same suspicion as the nomination proviso was 3 years guaranteed employment. Having said that, what happens if the employer disappears/goes bust.....etc etc. once you're over there? Surely they'll not send you back? I have a friend who was on temp ENS and he lost his job after 3 months and now works for someone else. It's truely a

minefield!

 

Cheers

Debbie

[WeGottaGetOuttaThisPlace]

We are going from Glasgow to Melbourne (but we don't yet have a visa), We will make less money on the house than what we originally wanted and savings are now gone, but I feel it really can't be any worse, and if it is then we will come back.

 

It is a hard decision, I am not trying to make it sound simple, so good luck, with the future.

 

Same boat as you guys then. We are going from Glasgow to Melbourne too. We spent a fortune on a week's holiday to validate the visa's late last year too! No money here, no money when we get there either. I think we would really regret not giving it a go. Thanks

[deb t-w]

Hi, we're in exactly the same position - our 175 was granted on 16/1/09 and luckily we validated in Feb 09 so at least have til 2014 to move. Our house has been on the market since last October and we have not had a sniff of an offer yet but we're still hanging in there although we are talking about dropping the price now.

 

We are gradually replacing the crummy stuff we have, kitchen utensils, bedding etc and using it now; we plan to take everything that is not fit for the bin. We think the cost of shipping will be far less than replacing everything when we get there. No point getting a £1 for something at a carboot then paying $10 in Aus for the same thing. We are using this time to sort out the rubbish and trying to stay positive.

 

We have been reasonably lucky workwise in that we are still just about hanging in there but as OH too, is in the construction trade so who knows how much longer that will last. We are just taking the view that, as one wise person on here has as their signature, "If we never, never go, we'll never, never know!". It may be a mistake and will not be financially as easy as it would have been when we started this process but if we don't do it now, we never will. They say you don't regret the things you do, only the things you didn't do so when we're sat in a old peoples home with our blankets round our knees, we can at least say we tried.

 

Hang on in there, I'm sure that your turn, like ours, will come for the great adventure.

 

Sending you lots of love and hope!

 

Debbie x

[lambfamily]

I am so sorry for you that your sponsor has gone and messed everything up for you. Hopefully someone will be able to give you some positive news on the visa.

 

Thanks so much for your post too, I think you are right in taking a risk and giving it a go. I just worry that we will waste a whole lot more money if things don't work out and we have to come back, but then again we don't have a secure future here at the moment anyway. My other half is on contract work just now so no security. Just contract to contract. It is so stressful. I am at home with our toddler since I was only going to bring in £100 a month in my old job and that was after a raise...

 

Anyway, I guess we will really have to make a decision one way or the other. It is so hard isn't it. You think the hard part is getting the visa and it takes so much work to get it that we definitely hadn't put as much research or effort into finding out about the practicalities of actually getting there! :goofy:

 

Best of luck with your situation too. Fingers crossed for you

 

Hiya

 

I've researched and researched till I could get a BA in the whole process! - I did the visa app without any support or via a migration company so was really proud that we got it granted without spending obscene amounts of money on that service. I'm so au fait with what needs to be done and even have a spreadsheet with all costings out on it and that's the thing that scared me the most. You are so right - the hard part is not the visa but the next stage in the process.

 

We're lucky we don't have a difficult life here and to be honest, on paper are mad to even consider putting ourselves on a bigger mortgage with a longer term to go out there. We're not unhappy to be in the UK either because every country has it's problems - it's just how much they cause you a problem that's the issue. It really is for us about whether we WANT to go and basically have an adventure that's different from here. We have 3 boys 11,10 and 6 and thought an outdoor lifestyle would suit them best. We don't have expectations of a romantic beach life because real life wherever you are is the same: work, school, homework, paying bills, housework - it's just a better climate makes things seem less of a chore sometimes. My husband and I visited last April as we'd never been to Australia and left the children at home with family. My honest opinion was - so what! The weather was lovely and I did like how families spent time socialising over the bank holidays but nothing else fired me to desire it. I am of the opinion tho that if we don't make every effort to at least get there and try it out for real, we'll possibly spend the rest of our lives regretting it. Better to regret something you've done than regret something you didn't do I suppose! That way you can at least say you did something!

 

The answer is not simple by any stretch. Unless you've absolutely nothing to lose, it is a decision that will test you to the limit for so many reasons before the final outcome plays out. If we get confirmation that our visa is non restrictive, that will be our watershed moment and from that point on, we will be able to move our lives forward because at the moment it's a bit of a living nightmare of worries, what ifs etc. and I just want to get back on an even keel rather than this constant state of flux.

 

Hopefully we'll get an answer this week from the DIAC and I sincerely hope you and yours can find the answer you want. Much more soul searching to do I suspect from both of us!

Best wishes

Debbie

[Guest DAVE007]

Hi, we're in exactly the same position - our 175 was granted on 16/1/09 and luckily we validated in Feb 09 so at least have til 2014 to move.

 

you do have until 2014 but not advisable to wait until the last minute to go. 175's are 5 years but advisable to be there for at least 3 of them to improve chances of renewal or for citizenship should you want it. If you rock up in the last year, chances of staying beyond that on a new visa or otherwise are slim... good luck though :-) ...

[deb t-w]

Thanks for the advice Dave - hopefully we will be there long before 2014 and plan to go the minute the house sells (been on the market for 9 months). We are feeling pretty despondant but hoping our perfect buyer is just around the corner. Although it would not be great to arrive any later than 2012 at least we are not in the position that we are running out of time on our visa - not yet anyway! If the house doesn't sell soon, we may well give up the idea altogether any way - renting it out is just not an option so everything crossed that we don't have another winter here.

 

D